Perhaps one of the hardest place to get into on Disney property is currently the NEW Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto. Although it’s not officially open yet, they had a soft opening on 3/28/15. We decided to check it out Monday 3/30/15. We got a pager quickly, however the wait time to get into Trader Sam’s was a little over 2 hours. This is probably going to improve considerably over time, however until the newness wears off, this is what you can expect. It was reported that on opening day, the wait time was 3 hours to get a pager, and then 3 more hours to get inside. A two hour wait is a considerable improvement, but keep in mind it was Monday; weekend crowds will probably be considerably larger.

The place is actually quite small, very small, and seems even smaller with a lot of people inside. The capacity inside is capped at 50, I think there are at least 8 cast members inside, so in reality perhaps room for 42? That is speculation on my part, I didn’t take an actual ‘head count’ – hardy har, but there seems to be seating for about 40. Sadly, some of the bench seating is wasted space because there isn’t enough tables for people to sit across the whole bench.

It was very loud inside, the cast members are required to perform/interact with guests according to what drinks are ordered. Each specialty drink ordered has a certain interactive effect. For instance if you order the Shrunken Zombie Head, the cast members cue the Shrunken Head effects, the black light comes on and illuminates the heads hanging in the rafters, some special music comes on. If you order the Polynesian Pearl, the bartender has to open and pull a pearl out of the giant clam at the back of the bar. There is more…best to see it for yourself.

We ordered a Tuna Poke, which was delicious, but really small. We also spent time on Trader Sam’s Tiki Terrace Outside, I’ll be sure to make a separate post for those photos and information.

Overall, I liked the new bar. Seating is very limited, they do not give you an assigned seat, once you get paged, you are set loose to find your own seats. So, we ended up at the bar – at the only seats available – which wasn’t that comfortable. Ideally, I would want to sit at a table. It was so crowded, I didn’t feel comfortable to take a look around the place and see all the details. I didn’t feel comfortable to sit and stay a while. It was like a pseudo frat party atmosphere, lots of yelling and hype – like you would expect from out of control spring-breakers, which I don’t find appealing. Some people were standing because there wasn’t room to sit.

We’ll probably be back in two weeks to check it out again, maybe the craziness will have died down by then. We love our souvenir drinking glasses, we’ll probably try a couple different drinks next time. With some luck, maybe we’ll get a table instead. This is definitely a place you will want to see for yourself.

For anyone who loves the Christmas holidays, you probably look forward (or back in this case) to all the special treats around Walt Disney World. In Epcot, they have the Sugar & Spice Holiday Bakery set up near the American Pavilion. This mini-bakery sells a limited number of holiday items. Among them, the Gingerbread Cookie is one of our favorites, too bad we’ll have to wait until November to see these again.

These are sushi rolls from Kona Island Sushi at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort! There are about eight sushi rolls to choose from, but if you don’t eat raw fish at all, then you would want to check out the Shrimp Tempura Roll, California Luau Roll (Jumbo Lump Crab, Pineapple, and Avocado), Dragon Hand Roll (Barbecued Eel), or Cucumber Roll.

We picked the Volcano Roll and Shrimp Tempura Roll. We usually get one raw and one cooked – plus we try to choose one that is spicy and one that is mild, so this combination works great. Also the Lava Roll and Caterpillar Roll Combo works out great for us too. The Lava Roll is an inside out Tuna roll, Shrimp Salad Tempura Crunch topped with a layer of Avocado. The Lava Roll has Togarashi-spiced Tempura Shrimp, Bay Scallops, spicy Mayo and Chives and it is SPICY! Woo!

Volcano Roll

Here is a closer view of the Volcano Roll (above), the stacked one in the shape of a Volcano. Comes with Spicy Tuna Seafood Lau’ai with Tempura Crunch ($14.99). The roll is a bit spicy, but not overwhelming. The presentation is impressive. The seafood salad and tempura crunch that is dotted around the plate is really tasty.

Tempura Shrimp Roll

And here is the close up of Shrimp Tempura Roll with a soy wrapper (above). Features Tempura Shrimp, fresh Mango served with Lilikoi sauce ($13.99). I really like the soy wrapper they use for this roll, it is a simple roll with the addition of the mango and sauce.

Although they seem like small portions, these are rather filling. Plus the server usually will bring you the house bread, which is a giant Hawaiian bread with Macadamia Nut Butter, delicious! It is not to be missed.

Kona Island Sushi is located on the 2nd floor of Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort main building, near where the monorail station is. Seating is limited in this section, there are about 6-8 chairs at the Sushi Bar area, and about 8 chairs against the window that overlook the monorail track. No reservations are needed for this section and you can order anything off the whole Kona menu. If you are going to eat a Kona you probably will need a reservation, although they can sometimes accommodate walk-ins, it really depends how busy they are.

I’m trying to add quinoa to our diet as a healthy alternative to rice, pasta, or potatoes. I haven’t really come to appreciate it as much as I should. It is full of protein, antioxidants, and vitamins, but it can be really bland. After trying this method of preparation, I can see a lot more possibilities for its usage.

Ingredients:
1 cup rinsed quinoa (any type you like, red, white, or mixed, I use organic)
2 cups water (I use filtered – like Brita or Pur – water when cooking anything that absorbs the water)
2-3 tablespoons of healthy fat, you can use olive oil or “healthy butter” like Smart Balance or similar.
1 clove of garlic, minced
Salt to taste
PLUS a vegetable of your choice, basically about 2 cups worth. I used 1 bag of boiled broccoli florets.
This would work well with cooked chopped zucchini, squash, mushrooms, carrots, bell peppers, onions, even mashed sweet potato.

Instructions:
Cook your 1 cup quinoa, garlic, and 2 cups water in a small pot on the stove. Follow the instructions on the bag or box. Usually a med-high heat for 15 mins. Turn off burner, remove from heat and cover. Let the grains sit for another 15 minutes, then fluff the grains with a spoon or fork, add your butter and salt to taste.

Cook your vegetable separately. Then add your favorite cooked vegetable to the finished quinoa.
I added one pound of cooked (from frozen) broccoli florets. After cooked, I chopped them into smaller chunky pieces and added to the quinoa and stirred well to combine.

It came out great and was more appetizing than plain quinoa.

Next up, quinoa (mixture of red and white) with sautéed zucchini and bell peppers, instead of putting the oil/butter into the quinoa, I used it to saute the veggies, then added everything with the quinoa. I already had chick peas cooked, so I also threw in about a cup. The great thing about cooking this, is that anything goes, if you have other veggies, you can always add them in too.

Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto is a brand new bar/lounge at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. This new bar has a tiki and adventure theme and it looks amazing. It’s like a cross between the Enchanted Tiki Room & the Adventurer’s Club. I’m so excited to hear that they are having a soft opening this weekend! Officially it will not have it’s grand opening until later in April.

There will be five new alcoholic beverages on the menu unique to Trader Sam’s, four drinks taken from the Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar menu (California), plus three non-alcoholic specialties. They are going to have custom tiki drinking glasses for purchase, although we may have to wait until the grand opening before those become available. I am really looking forward to sampling the new food and drinks. Kungaloosh!

This is a bona-fide Hoop Dee Doo Strawberry Shortcake. We were celebrating our anniversary at Disney and we had stopped in at Crockett’s Tavern (@ Trail’s End) and we really REALLY wanted a Strawberry Shortcake for dessert, depending on the cast member (I won’t name names) they may charge you for it – just a heads up. If you are very lucky (it’s not on the menu and can’t usually be ordered), you can experience this amazing dessert while you are at Trail’s End or Crockett’s Tavern, like for a birthday celebration or anniversary, it’s worth the money even if they do charge you for it. I think the cost was something like $12, they rang this one up as two portions of Strawberry Shortcake @ $6 each.

Now, let’s talk about this dessert. This is my *favorite* Strawberry Shortcake at Disney, or anywhere for that matter, no one makes it better than this in my opinion. This delicious bit of heaven is constructed of a thick piece of yellow cake sprinkled with crystallized sugar, the cake is sliced in half (like a bun) and filled with real whipped cream. It is topped with even more whip cream and surrounded by a moat of delicious strawberries in syrup. It’s perfect for two people to share, that is – as long as you aren’t shy about digging in. If you are the kind of person who takes one bite and pushes it away, try the Trail’s End buffet instead for dinner, they recently added a modified version of this Strawberry Shortcake to the dessert bar. (Served as cake loaf slices with whip cream and strawberries on a long platter) We’ve never seen it on the dessert bar before in the past, my guess is that they added it because Strawberries are in season? or by popular demand!

Here are some photos I took at Boardwalk Bakery, there are so many good looking foods and desserts are available at this location. The prices on the menu might be outdated, these photos were taken when the Boardwalk Bakery just reopened after their big remodel. Most of the dessert items count as snack credits, items ranging from $3-5 for most desserts. Most sandwiches are $8.99 and up. There is also a soda fountain here for your refillable Disney mugs, you can purchase refillable mugs here. The bakery can get quite busy at times. During the slow times of day it can be a nice place to grab something to eat and relax outside on the Boardwalk and watch the world go by, people watch, enjoy the scenery. Often times little birds will come by looking for crumbs.

If you haven’t even stopped in to the Tune-In Lounge (walk up bar) or the 50’s Prime Time Cafe (reservations required), here is a little photo tour of the place, some outside signage and some glances at the inside.
This is a very busy place to be, it slows down right before closing time. Thankfully you can squeeze in here in a pinch before closing and still order food at the Tune-In Lounge Bar.

The Tune In Lounge

The 50’s Prime Time Cafe

The lounge and restaurant are connected inside. They share the same bathrooms and waiting area. The bar is located to the left of the 50’s Prime Time restaurant and check-in desk. The restaurant is really cool looking, everything is 1950’s decor, lots of knickknacks and quirky furniture. Especially cool during Christmas!

50’s Prime Time Menu

Lots of comfort foods on the menu. If you will notice, the PB&J Milkshake is the very first item on the menu, but it isn’t listed in the dessert section! And surprisingly, the Chocolate & PB milkshake isn’t listed on the menu. (There is probably a newer version of the menu, this one might be outdated)

The PB&J Milkshake

It may not look impressive or different from any other milkshake, but it sure is delicious and flavorful. I’ve also tried the Chocolate & Peanut Butter Milkshake on another occasion and that one was too intense for me, a lot sweeter than the PB&J. If you have a serious sweet tooth and can handle that level of sugar you may like the Chocolate & PB. Consuming a giant milkshake isn’t something I would consider on a hot day, I learned that the hard way – be warned, you might get a little sick walking around in the heat after eating that much sugar.

Still some left in the cup

This milkshake is big enough to share in my opinion, unless you have got some mad milkshake drinking skills.

People waiting in “Dad’s Living Room” to be seated at 50’s Prime Time

If you are wanting to stop in at the Tune-In Lounge, I recommend coming in about 30 minutes before closing. That gives enough time for you to place your food and drink order, although it’s not ideal if you like to linger, but at least the majority of the crowds will start to leave by then, and there should be some seats available at the bar.

If you want the full 50’s experience with cast members in character and dining in the retro kitchen atmosphere: 50’s designs and formica counters, be sure to book an Advanced Dining Reservation as I am pretty sure they don’t accept walk-ins at 50’s Prime Time Cafe.

Digging through some photos and came across one of the bakery case during the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. Big Top Treats is located in the Storybook Circus area in Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom, the bakery is inside the Big Top Souvenirs, they make fresh handcrafted treats here, you can sometimes see them dipping gourmet candy apples or making candy. Because it was during Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, you will see some special items in the case in Halloween colors or Jack-o-Lantern theme. Plus a good selection of Olaf and Frozen themed treats. So cute!